1909 in South Africa

Incumbents

• Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa:Walter Hely-Hutchinson.
• Governor of the Colony of Natal: Matthew Nathan.
• Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Leander Starr Jameson.
• Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal: Frederick Robert Moor.
• Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony: Hamilton John Goold-Adams.
• Prime Minister of the Transvaal Colony: Louis Botha.

Events

;February

• 25 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested at Volksrust for failure to produce a registration certificate and is sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

;June

• 15 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's Cricket Ground and form the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC).
• Mahatma Gandhi embarks in Cape Town for Southampton, England.

;November

• 30 – Mahatma Gandhi and the Transvaal Indian Deputation arrive back in Cape Town.

;December

• 28 – The first manned heavier-than-air powered flight in South Africa is made by French aviator Albert Kimmerling by taking off from the Nahoon Racecourse at East London in a Voisin 1907 biplane.

;Unknown date

• South Africa becomes the first non-European country to join FIFA.

Births

• 19 March – Louis Hayward, South African-born actor. (d. 1985)
• 5 August – Oscar Mpetha, anti-apartheid activist. (d. 1994)
• 5 September – Yusuf Dadoo, doctor and politician. (d. 1983)
• 5 December – Bobbie Heine Miller, South African tennis player. (d. 2016)

Deaths

• 13 April – Sir Donald Currie GCMG, shipping magnate and donor of the Currie Cups for rugby and cricket. (b. 1825)

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 4 February – Natal – Creighton to Riverside (Cape), 12 mi.
• 1 April – Natal – Vryheid East to Hlobane, 17 mi.
• 18 May – Cape Midland – Barkly Bridge to Alexandria, 54 mi.

Locomotives

• Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Natal Government Railways (NGR):
  • The first five of thirty 4-8-2 tender locomotives, the world's first true Mountain type locomotive. In 1912 it will be designated Class B on the South African Railways (SAR).
  • A single 2-6-6-0 Mallet articulated compound steam locomotive, the first Mallet type to enter service in South Africa. In 1912 it will be designated Class MA on the SAR.
• The NGR begins to modify some of its Class C 4-10-2T Reid Tenwheeler locomotives to a 4-8-2T wheel arrangement to make them suitable for yard work without the risk of derailing as a result of the long ten-coupled wheelbase. In 1912 these will be designated Class H2 on the SAR.

References

References

1. [http://www.sapfa.org.za/history/1910-1920-early-flying-south-africa South African Power Flying Association - 1910 to 1920 - Early Flying in South Africa] {{Webarchive. link. (20 August 2015 (Accessed on 26 November 2016))
2. ''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 186, ref. no. 200954-13
3. ''Report for year ending 31 December 1909'', Cape Government Railways, Section VIII - Dates of Opening and the Length of the different Sections in the Cape Colony, from the Year 1873 to 31st December, 1909.
4. {{Holland-Vol 1
5. {{Holland-Vol 2
6. {{Paxton-Bourne
7. ''The Railway Report for year ending 31 Dec. 1908'', Natal Government Railways, p. 39, par 14.